The 2014 UCLA men’s water polo team flawlessly followed in the footsteps of its 2013 counterpart for 78 days.
The script from last season called for 18 straight wins to start the season, back-to-back losses to USC and Stanford and an undefeated record for the rest of regular season play before stumbling in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament Semifinal.
The 2014 team stuck to that narrative perfectly.
After amassing a stunning 312-77 point differential and a clean 18-0 record, the Bruins promptly lost to the Trojans and the Cardinal in a disappointing SoCal Tournament. Then, once it won out its remaining regular season games, the team was upset by Long Beach State in the MPSF semifinal game.
The final step to complete the 2013 storyline was a loss in the third-place game, an early exit from playoff contention and an offseason plagued by “what-ifs.”
That is where the 2014 team decided it was finally time to write its own story.
With a dominant 10-5 win over the rival Trojans, the Bruins salvaged third place in the MPSF Tournament and were selected as the top seed in the NCAA Championship Tournament.
“For me it wasn’t about winning or losing, it was about how we responded to the situation. We’re a different group this year,” said coach Adam Wright. “Obviously it was a tough loss to Long Beach and that’s not what we wanted, but those things happen. We had a choice: We could sit and dwell on it or we could move on.”
After the conference championship weekend, six members of the UCLA men’s water polo team garnered All-MPSF honors. All six athletes were chosen for either the First or Second-Teams. Last year, only two Bruins were chosen for Second-Team while three garnered honorable mentions.
Three of this year’s six honorees are sophomores: goalie Garrett Danner, center Gordon Marshall and attacker Ryder Roberts. As three of the four total sophomores on the First or Second-Teams, the Bruins have some of the strongest young talent in the conference.
“It’s a nice honor but it’s not really a big deal to me,” Marshall said. “A lot of what I do is credit to my team, anyway. In my position you have to have a good team around to get good chances and play well.”
No longer following the path of the 2013 season, the Bruins now look toward this weekend’s Final Four in San Diego with a larger team goal in sight.
“We did what we needed to do throughout the year so we have the No. 1 seed, but UC San Diego is a good team,” said junior defender Anthony Daboub. “Last year was really disappointing, but this is our shot. It’s all in our hands.”
No. 1 UCLA begins its weekend against the host No. 4 UCSD on Saturday at 1 p.m. A win would put them in the championship game Sunday against the winner of No. 2 Stanford and No. 3 USC.
Email Walters at twalters@media.ucla.edu